Divide by nine
by Mecca24
Summary: Chen is acting strange. That coupled with a rumor becomes a misunderstanding that causes a rift in the Beagle line. Can Chen recover in time before the damage is beyond repair?


**Author's note: This is my very first EXO story. At the time, I was writing fanfic purely for myself with no intention of posting any of them. But seeing the lack of Chen fics out there, I decided I needed to show my support for my favourite EXO member and entertain fellow Chen fans. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the boys.**

 **Warning: un-betaed**

Kim Jongdae sat in the stairwell, anxiously gripping his mobile phone, waiting for the call. He looked at his watch. It was almost time to return to their dance practice. This waiting was killing him. His mum promised she would call as soon as they received news but there was no call, only text messages to say they were still waiting. Jongdae ran his fingers through his hair, gripping it tightly as his emotions threatened to get the better of him.

* * *

Four days ago, Jongdae received a call from his mum. She was sobbing as she told him the doctor found a tumor in his father's brain. He had to undergo surgery for the doctor to take it out and determine if it was malignant or benign. He had spoken to his managers to ask if he could take time off to go home but they were only just over a month before their comeback. Tak Youngjun told him to wait. If the situation with his father got worse, he would allow him leave for as long as his family needed him but until then he requested for Jongdae to be patient and continue to work hard. Jongdae nodded and promised to do his best. He also asked the managers to not tell the others. They were all working hard to make sure the Comeback was a success, he didn't want to disrupt them. He tried his hardest to act normal. He focused on his practice so that he couldn't think about what was happening back home but when night came and it was time to rest, thoughts of his family came flooding back, making sleep impossible. He wanted to cry, to let it all out, but he didn't want to wake Minseok, so he kept it all in. He thought he did a good job hiding it from his brothers.

* * *

It was five hours into the surgery when Jongdae's older brother called to tell him there was a complication during surgery. It was all he was told. It was all his brother knew. He promised to call Jongdae as soon as he knew more.

* * *

Chanyeol watched Jongdae sneak out of the practice room as soon as their instructor called for a break. He frowned, not happy with what he was seeing. He wasn't concerned. He was angry. When one of the trainees came up to him telling him he heard Jongdae talking on the phone about leaving the team after walking out of the manager's office, Chanyeol didn't believe it. Jongdae was the most considerate and caring person he'd ever met. He would joke that Jongdae really was from another planet because he'd never met a human who could be that nice. However, after three days of being avoided, he was starting to believe the trainee. Jongdae was acting like he had something to hide. He didn't join in with he and Baekhyun when they were playing games. He didn't join Minseok and Baekhyun for billiards. None of them ever missed these down times because it relieved a lot of the stress they were under. Then there was the memory of the day they all found out Kris filed a lawsuit to leave the group. Jongdae was acting the way Kris was acting before that dark day. It made him angry. Jongdae knew how betrayed he felt. He and Baekhyun knew better than the others because they had found him crying uncontrollably on the roof of their building. They stayed with him until he stopped. They stayed with him until Baekhyun's jokes finally made him laugh. They made a pact to stay with EXO until it was agreed by the entire family that the EXO road has taken them as far as it could. He didn't want to believe Jongdae would go back on his word but he couldn't see why his friend would be acting this way unless he was feeling guilty about something.

* * *

Jongdae pulled himself up by the rails, knowing if he didn't return to practice one of his brothers would come looking. He headed up the steps when the stairwell started blurring in and out of focus. He tried to keep a firm grip on the rails but he was weak from lack of sleep and food. Before he knew it, he was rolling down the steps; pain shot through his right leg and arm as they twisted, the back of his head slammed against the wall, jolting him to a stop. Jongdae groaned as he waited for his vision to return to normal. He rubbed his right forearm and pulled his leg up to his chest, stretching it until the throbbing dulled, when he remembered he was waiting for a phone call. Ignoring the pain, he patted his pockets desperately, sighing in relief when he felt it still in his pocket. He pulled it out to make sure it was still working before pushing himself up. The room started moving again, but this time he was ready for it. He closed his eyes and waited out the dizziness before he slowly and painfully made his way up the stairs.

* * *

Junmyeon was worried. It wasn't like Jongdae to come back late from a break, especially when he knew how important it was for them to practice this new dance for their new title song. It was a song they all agreed would lead them to another victory this year. He, just like Chanyeol, saw that there was something wrong with Jongdae but he didn't know what Chanyeol was thinking. He was only concerned for their vocalist. Jongdae wasn't usually one to keep everything to himself. Junmyeon always made sure every member knew they could come to him at any time to talk. He looked over at the eldest member of the group and Jongdae's best friend, Minseok, who also looked worried. Minseok nodded, knowing his leader wanted him to check on Jongdae.

Jongin and Sehun were already practicing. Being the dancers of the group, they got most of the choreography. Kyungsoo was watching them, as he always did because he believed he could learn a lot from their youngests. Lay practiced on his own. He was always self-conscious and so liked to practice away from the others.

Junmyeon was glad they seemed to not notice anything amiss. They were all tired. Particularly Kyungsoo who had only just finished filming. He was more concerned with Chanyeol who looked like he was about to explode. Baekhyun was trying to talk to him but he glared at the door Jongdae had walked out of. Something was wrong with two of the three beagles. The house was so much quieter these days.

* * *

Baekhyun pulled at Chanyeol's shirt. This was his best friend but Chanyeol has been acting like another person for the past couple of days and Jongdae kept to himself. "Come on, Chanyeol, talk to me. What the hell is wrong with you?" He could see that Chanyeol was angry at something but he wouldn't talk to him about it. "One of you should talk about whatever is wrong. Did you and Jongdae have an argument? Why won't either of you talk to me?" That got a reaction out of Chanyeol but it wasn't a good one.

"Don't worry." Chanyeol growled, "I'll be talking with Jongdae very soon."

"What the hell…" Baekhyun whispered to himself. He didn't understand what was going on. He knew Jongdae had walked back in without looking because Chanyeol's eyes were burning now. He frowned. _What is going on?_

* * *

By the time Jongdae returned, Chanyeol had already let the memories of that day, three years ago, get the better of him. The pain he felt came back, chasing away all rational thoughts. He was called Reaction King for a reason. It was rare to see the negative side of it because Chanyeol was the happiest and most playful member but today he was not happy nor in a playful mood.

Baekhyun jumped back in shock when Chanyeol shot to his feet. "Where the hell have you been?!" Chanyeol yelled out in anger, his low voice booming through the practice room, startling everyone.

Jongdae and Minseok froze on the spot. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the slow closing of the door. Minseok turned to Jongdae when he realised Chanyeol was directing the anger-fuelled question at his friend. He worried because when he found Jongdae, the boy was a shade paler than when he had left the room. He noticed a tremor in his slight frame. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder, hoping to tell him he had his support when Jongdae jumped. It was only a second but Minseok thought his saw pain reflect in Jongdae's eyes. Jongdae gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry everyone. I lost track of time." Jongdae answered as he gripped the phone in his pocket.

Chanyeol scoffed at the lame excuse. "You know how important every minute up until our comeback is. How can you lose track of time?"

Jongdae took a step back when Chanyeol stormed towards him. He'd never seen Chanyeol this angry. Junmyeon got up to intercept the tall member but he wasn't quick enough. Minseok stepped in front of Jongdae, hoping to protect his friend from his other friend but Chanyeol shoved him aside. Minseok stumbled, his fall was stopped by their leader. They looked at each other, confused and shocked.

"I'm sorry." Jongdae said again, when his phone rang in his pocket. The shock of it made his entire body jerk violently. The pain in his arm and leg shot through his body but he ignored it. He looked down at his hand in his pocket as he struggled to pull his phone out. He only managed to see that it was his brother calling when the phone was snatched out of his hand. The tall rapper held it high above Jongdae's head. Jongdae stared up at the ringing phone in Chanyeol's hand. He desperately reached for it but Chanyeol stepped away from him. Jongdae begged him, "Please give it back." He whispered, not trusting himself with his voice. He was close to losing control of everything. "I'll explain everything, just give it to me first." He pulled at Chanyeol's arm, trying his hardest to get to the phone that was still ringing but with his injure leg and arm, he didn't have a chance against Chanyeol.

"Explain now. Do you want to leave?" Chanyeol demanded.

Baekhyun's eyes widened at the accusation. The puzzle pieces from the past week started falling into place. Chanyeol thinks Jongdae wants to leave by the way he's been acting these days. What Baekhyun didn't understand was where the accusation originated from. Chanyeol knows Jongdae would never try to leave without talking to them first. They made a promise to each other. Baekhyun watched the desperation in Jongdae. Something was very wrong with this beagle. Jongdae was shaking so badly he could see it. Whatever was going on with Jongdae, it had nothing to do with leaving this group. That he was sure of. "Chanyeol, give him his phone back."

"He can get it back when he answers my question!" Chanyeol growled at Jongdae. "Are you leaving us?!"

Jongdae stopped reaching for the phone. "No." He answered simply, then held out his hand, expecting Chanyeol to give it back because he answered his question, but Chanyeol didn't. "Please, I need it!" He reached up again and pulled at Chanyeol's's arm but he was too weak and his friend was almost a head taller than him. "Please!"

Yixing saw the desperation in Jongdae. "Stop playing, Chanyeol. Give him the phone." He looked over at Sehun who was the next tallest, to get the phone back for Jongdae. Sehun was about to when Jongdae lost all control of his emotions.

"MY FATHER'S DYING!" Jongdae cried out with so much pain, it was as if time had stopped. Nobody moved. Jongdae grabbed a fistful of the shocked Chanyeol's shirt. The thoughts of losing his father had consumed his mind for four days now. All he had was his brother's text messages for updates on his condition. He knew they were trying to protect him but didn't they know that the less he knew the more his mind came up with worse case scenarios? "He's dying!" Jongdae's eyes burned into Chanyeol's soul. "He's dying and I'm stuck here!" He gripped Chanyeol's shirt as if I were his lifeline. If he held on tight enough everything would be okay.

Chanyeol's anger turned to horror at the pain he was seeing in his friend's eyes. He'd been wrong all this time. Jongdae was keeping something from them but it wasn't what he thought. The vibration of the phone in his hand was physically hurting him now. It was like he was holding an earthquake in his palm. His arm slowly lowered, about to hand the phone to his friend when it stopped ringing. Chanyeol stared at the phone in dread. _Missed call: hyung._ It was Jongdae's brother calling him. What did he want to tell Jongdae? That their father was still here or…?

Jongdae felt as if his heart had stopped with the phone. "Abeoji…" He gasped at the phone as if its silence represented his father's life. "Abeoji." His voice shook as images of his father's death plagued his mind. He buried his face in Chanyeol's shirt and let out a muffled cry so filled with anguish that it pierced through all their hearts like ice.

Chanyeol didn't know what to do. He was filled with hatred for himself. Jongdae was in this much pain because of him. His free hand came up and rested against Jongdae's head. "Jongdae…"

"Abeoji!" Jongdae shoved Chanyeol hard, making him fall to the floor, hard. The phone flew out of Chanyeol's hand, smashing against the floor. Everyone stared at the phone in horror as parts of the phone flew in different directions. "No." Jongdae gasped as he stumbled to it in a panic, dropping to his knees. He picked up the phone in his shaking hands. "No." He desperately swiped at the black screen and pressed every button. "Hyung! Where's father? Is he okay?" Jongdae talked to the phone like a mad man, expecting it to answer. "Abeoji!" He kept swiping at the screen until blood appeared but he didn't stop.

Baekhyun knelt in front of Jongdae and gripped his hand. Jongdae was cutting his fingers on the cracked screen. He wanted to take the broken phone from him but knew his friend would lose his mind if he did. "Jongdae. You're hurting yourself."

Jongdae stopped and raised his head, begging Baekhyun to help him, "I need to talk to hyung." Baekhyun was smart. Jongdae pushed the phone into his hands. Tears ran down Jongdae's cheeks. "Please, help me." Baekhyun put the broken phone down and took his friend's head in his hands, gently wiping away the tears, frowning at the heat he felt. Jongdae was running a fever but he couldn't worry about it right now. Baekhyun turned to Minseok who was already on the phone. Minseok was Jongdae's best friend. He would have his brother's or mother's phone number. He could see that Chanyeol was also looking at Minseok, hopefully. Baekhyun knew Chanyeol was feeling guilty but he couldn't bring himself to care. He didn't care when Jongdae pushed him, he didn't care when he fell hard on the floor and he didn't care now. Jongdae was a mess right now because of him.

"A-ssi! I can't get through! He must be trying to call Jongdae again." Minseok walked over to Jongdae who was shaking in Baekhyun's arm and knelt beside him. "Don't worry. I'll get through." He promised his best friend. He frowned when Jongdae's eyes glazed over. "Jongdae?" His eyes widened in horror as Jongdae's eyes rolled back. "Jongdae!"

Baekhyun was shocked when Jongdae slumped against him. He wasn't ready for the sudden weight in his arms. Minseok dropped his phone to help Baekhyun. "Jongdae!" They lowered Jongdae to the floor. Baekhyun tapped his cheek. "Jongdae, open your eyes!"

"He's burning up!" Minseok realised in shock.

"I know." Baekhyun kept trying to get Jongdae to respond.

Junmyeon went straight into crisis mode. He sent Sehun and Jongin to their managers and Yixing to get some ice water and a towel. He called the ambulance as he watched Chanyeol on the floor. Their happy virus hasn't moved since Jongdae pushed him. Kyungsoo saw where his leader was looking and tore his eyes from his unconscious friend on the floor. He knew he would be more help to Chanyeol than Jongdae right now. The older members were taking care of Jongdae. "Chanyeol." He called as he gently placed a hand on the shocked member's shoulder. Chanyeol turned to him, devastated at what he had done. "Come on. Jongdae will be okay." Kyungsoo held out a hand to him. Chanyeol let Kyungsoo pull him up when his phone rang. He pulled it out and was shocked to see it was Jongdae's brother. He'd forgotten Jongdae had used his phone to call his brother once.

Kyungsoo saw the caller I.D; _Jongdeok hyung._ His eyes widened. "Answer it!"

Chanyeol looked over at Jongdae. By now, Yixing was back with the towel and water, and Minseok was using it to cool down Jongdae's fever. This was something he could do for Jongdae. He took a deep breath before answering. "Yeoboseyo. Jongdeok hyung?" Chanyeol tried to sound calm, knowing Jongdae would hate for his family to know what was happening right now, not with what they were going through over there.

" _Chanyeol! I've been trying to call Jongdae. Is he with you? Can I speak with him?"_

Chanyeol rubbed his face as he lied to Kim Jongdeok. "He got pulled into the manager's office. It looked important. We usually turn off our phones when we go in there."

" _Oh no, I hope everything that's been happening hasn't got him in trouble. I know he was trying to get leave to come back home."_ Chanyeol immediately knew where the misunderstanding started. The trainee who had come to him was from Thailand. He wasn't fluent in Korean. He must have misunderstood what was said and thought Jongdae wanted to leave the team. Chanyeol closed his eyes at the mess it had caused. _"Can you tell Jongdae that father is okay? The doctor managed to stop the bleeding and the tumor is benign. Everything is fine now. Father will recover and the tumor was completely removed. It was all just a big scare. Mother is with father right now. She said to tell Jongdae to take care of himself. She loves him and we wish all of you the very best with your Comeback."_

Chanyeol had to cover the phone to stop the sob that had escaped his chest from sounding through the phone. He covered his mouth with his forearm as he tried to gather himself and took a breath again before talking. "I will tell him. He's been so worried the past few days. He will be happy to hear the news."

" _Thank you for taking care of him, Chanyeol. He emails me a lot about you and the others. You and Baekhyun always make everyone laugh. Thank you for making my brother laugh."_

Chanyeol was close to losing all composure and Kyungsoo could see it. He took the phone from his friend. "Jongdeok Hyung. It's Kyungsoo. The choreographer just called Chanyeol over. Looks like he has some pointers for him. He's sorry he had to just throw me the phone." He knelt as Chanyeol broke down, crying silently.

" _Tell him he doesn't need to be sorry. I'm sorry for keeping him so long. Please tell him to pass on my message to Jongdae."_

"I will. Take care." Kyungsoo hung up and hugged Chanyeol, letting him cry.

In the time of the phone call, Sehun and Jongin returned with their manager. Hyunkyun tried to wake him up. "What happened? How did he get this sick without anyone noticing?" Junmyeon stood with the youngest members and Yixing, providing as much comfort as he could while feeling guilty for not seeing something was wrong with Jongdae. The manager looked around and then shook his head sadly at all the guilty expressions. "This isn't anyone's fault. I knew what was happening and shouldn't have promised to keep it from all of you." This group was more of a family. It never turned out well when families didn't talk about their problems.

Minseok continued cooling down his friend's fever and calling out to him. "Come on, Jongdae. Wake up." He tapped Jongdae's face. "Open your eyes." The longer Jongdae stayed unconscious the more he worried. "I'm sorry, Jongdae. I knew something was wrong." He tapped Jongdae's face again. "Please wake up." He gasped in relief when Jongdae frowned irritably. "I think he's waking up."

Chanyeol's head shot up at the words. He clumsily pushed himself to his feet with Kyungsoo's help. "How is he?" He asked as he neared.

Minseok glared up at him as he approached but seeing the guilty expression, he knew Chanyeol was already punishing himself more than he ever could. Reluctantly, he gave Baekhyun the towel before moving aside for the tallest member.

Baekhyun on the other hand, wasn't as forgiving. He didn't care that Chanyeol felt guilty. He didn't think he deserved to be the one to give Jongdae the good news. He didn't have the right. However, he didn't say a word. He focused on Jongdae instead, trying to keep him cool.

Chanyeol nodded his thanks to Minseok. "Jongdae…" He called, hoping to get Jongdae to open his eyes. He smiled when Jongdae looked at him through tired eyes. "Hey."

Jongdae frowned, then tried to lift his head, when the pain there made itself known. He reached back, wincing as his hand brushed the bump at the back of his head. Chanyeol frowned and pulled Jongdae's hand away while their manager gently felt around his head. "That's a nasty bump." Jongdae groaned, slapping away the hands that were causing him more pain. The others were surprised. When did Jongdae hit his head?

Chanyeol thought to distract Jongdae from their manager. "Your brother called me." He told him. Jongdae immediately shot up at those words almost headbutting Baekhyun. He suddenly remembered what was happening before he passed out. The spinning room, caused by sitting up too fast, threatened to send him back into oblivion but he held on because he needed to find out about his father.

"My phone!" Jongdae gripped Chanyeol's arm, desperately. "Where's my phone?"

Chanyeol took him by the upper arms trying to calm Jongdae down as well as hold him up. Jongdae was so weak, he couldn't sit up on his own. "It's okay. Everything is okay. Your father's fine. They got the tumour out and it's benign." Jongdae studied Chanyeol's expression after receiving the good news. He wanted to see if Chanyeol was lying to him because he didn't want him to worry. "I promise you. Your father is going to recover." Chanyeol knew Jongdae was finding it hard to believe after fearing the worse for days now. "I wouldn't lie to you about this."

Jongdae let out a breath of relief when he saw Chanyeol was telling the truth. Then suddenly all the emotions from the last four days poured out of him. Chanyeol watched as the fear Jongdae tried to hide from them burst out. He pulled Jongdae into his arms and shielded him as his friend cried it all out. He protected him the way he should have protected him in the first place instead of believing rumours. He hugged and cried with him. The sobbing was so violent, they all worried Jongdae was on the verge of a seizure. Baekhyun squeezed Jongdae's shoulder. The rest of the team converged on the three members. They surrounded them. Their leader spoke words of comfort to all of them. EXO members will always be here for each other.

When Jongdae finally calmed down enough, the team pulled away but they didn't move far. "He's shaking." Chanyeol told them as he pulled his friend tight against to keep him warm but Jongdae groaned as his injured arm got trapped between him and Chanyeol.

Baekhyun frowned, "Lie him down." Jongdae protested at the loss of warmth from his friend. "It's okay, Jongdae." Baekhyun spoke in a soothing tone as he gently took Jongdae's right arm and pushed up the sleeve. Minseok winced at the bruising there. "A-ssii." Baekhyun growled.

Yixing, who was at Jongdae's feet, looked down at his ankle. Jongdae's pant leg was pulled up a little. He frowned at the colour of the skin. "What the hell is going on here?" He asked as he revealed Jongdae's swollen ankle. Nobody knew what was going on. How did Jongdae get sick and injured without them knowing?

Jongdae groaned again when the cold wouldn't go away. He pulled his arm back and rolled onto his side, curling into a ball to get warm. Minseok pulled off his hoodie and moved in front of him, wrapping it around his best friend's shoulder. "What happened to you?"

Jongdae opened his eyes. Tears started again when he saw how worried Minseok was. "Hyung."

Minseok sighed at the soft call. He lifted his friend into his arms and rested him against his chest. "You're going to be okay. I promise." Jongdae snuggled against him, finally being able to seek comfort from his big brother. He hated keeping everything from Minseok. He knew it was the right thing to do but he also knew how much it hurt Minseok that he avoided him.

"I'm sorry, hyung."

"Sssh…just rest. Let me take care of you." Minseok soothed. Jongdae closed his eyes and did as he was told.

Hyunkyun walked back into the room, followed by the paramedics. The team sighed in relief. Finally, Jongdae is going to get the help he needed.

* * *

Minseok traveled in the ambulance while the manager followed with Chanyeol. Baekhyun wanted to protest that Chanyeol shouldn't be allowed to go to the hospital but Junmyeon agreed that he should go as well. The leader wanted to give Chanyeol a chance to talk to Jongdae.

It was quiet in the studio after they left. The practice was canceled for the day. Junmyeon sat on the floor in the middle of the room and gestured for the others to sit down with him in a circle. Yixing joined him first, followed by Kyungsoo and the two youngest and then Baekhyun who was too quiet for anyone's liking. "Like every situation we've had, it helps to talk about it so whatever you feel right now, let it out."

"I should've known something was wrong with Jongdae and Chanyeol." Baekhyun blurted out. He wiped at the tears that ran down his cheeks. "They were too quiet. If I made one of them talk, it wouldn't have gotten to this point."

"It's not your fault, Baekhyun." Yixing tried to relieve his guilt while he felt the same way.

"We're all exhausted." Kyungsoo agreed, "We just wanted this Comeback to showcase the best of all of us and Jongdae did a good job of hiding it."

"As the leader, I'm supposed to be taking care of all of you. So, it's my responsibility." Junmyeon told them.

"You can only do so much, hyung." Sehun squeezed his shoulder. Junmyeon smiled at the youngest who had matured so much over the years.

"Jongdae always takes care of us. It's our turn to look after him." Jongin may be young but he was more mature than some of his hyungs.

Junmyeon smiled proudly at his brothers. He didn't need to worry about them. They knew what needed to be done. "Jongdae will probably be ordered to stay off his ankle for a while so he'll need a lot of help."

"We'll make sure he does what the doctor says." Yixing promised. In China, aside from Tao, Jongdae was the youngest but he felt more protective over Jongdae because it was harder on the Korean members over there and Jongdae always seemed so nervous whenever they had interviews and did live shows. That protectiveness still lingered and right now, it seemed to intensify. "We'll take care of him."

* * *

Jongdae was lying in the hospital bed with his eyes closed. The light in the room was making his headache worse. As soon as they arrived at the hospital he had to get an x-ray of his whole body. Minseok and Chanyeol stayed with him the entire time, barely giving any room for nurses or doctors to do their jobs. Now they were sitting silently, watching over their sick and injured brother, who hasn't said a word since arriving at the hospital, while the manager and the doctor spoke about the best course of action for Jongdae in the next couple of weeks. It's only a month before their comeback and they needed to make sure Jongdae was ready without causing any irreparable damage to his injuries which turned out to be more than they first thought. Not only was his ankle badly sprained but he had twisted his right wrist as well. His back was covered in bruises and on top of all that he had a mild concussion.

Jongdae wrapped his arms around himself and curled up onto his side. He couldn't seem to stop shaking. Chanyeol saw this and worried that his friend was still cold. He took off his pullover. "Here, put this on." Jongdae turned to him and saw the offer. Nodding tiredly, he sat up with Minseok's help. Jongdae pushed off Minseok's jacket that he'd been using as a blanket and let Chanyeol help him into the pullover. Once on, Minseok covered him back up with his jacket. "Is that better?" Jongdae nodded as he closed his eyes, exhausted. His body was ready to give in.

Minseok sighed at how pale his friend was. He was clearly not well and hasn't been well for a while now. Minseok hated himself for not seeing Jongdae's health deteriorating. "You want to tell us how you managed to do so much damage to yourself and why the hell you didn't say anything?" Minseok's words sounded harsh but his tone was gentle as he spoke to the man he considered a little brother. Chanyeol leaned forward, waiting for the answer.

Jongdae opened his eyes. He sighed at the guilt he saw in Chanyeol's eyes. He could still see the betrayal in his friend's eyes when he accused him of trying to leave the group. Jongdae thought he'd be angrier but the look in Chanyeol's eyes at that moment took him back to the day Baekhyun and he found Chanyeol on the rooftop of their apartment building crying. He knew why Chanyeol reacted the way he did. He was scared that EXO was going to take another blow. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel the way Kris did." Chanyeol's eyes widened in awe at the apology. "I never thought I would be the one to make you feel that way again." Again, Chanyeol wondered if Jongdae was really an alien. "I'm sorry."

Chanyeol looked at Minseok who looked just as shocked as he felt. They all knew how forgiving and kind Jongdae could be but this was ridiculous. If Minseok was the one Chanyeol accused, he would've retaliated. "Why are you apologising?!" If Jongdae wouldn't get angry then Minseok would get angry for him. "He had no right to accuse you like that!"

"Hyung…" Jongdae begged his best friend not to be angry.

"He's right." Chanyeol didn't want Jongdae to make any excuses for him. "I had no right and you didn't make me feel that way. I did. It was all a stupid misunderstanding and I should've known better than to listen to a trainee whose Korean is probably worse than Yixing hyung's ever was." Chanyeol put a hand on Jongdae's leg. "I'm the who should be apologising. I should've spoken to you earlier instead of letting my emotions get the better of me." He turned to Minseok. "I really am sorry."

Minseok shook his head. "What can we expect from our Reaction King?" He teased, telling Chanyeol all was forgiven. Then he turned serious, looking straight at Jongdae. "You should've talked to us." He reprimanded Jongdae. "How could you keep something like that from us? I know it's your personal troubles but you're our family. You shouldn't have gone through what you did on your own."

Jongdae fiddled with the blanket, unable to look his best friend in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't want my problems to affect any of you. We're so close to our Comeback. Even if I couldn't return with my all, I wanted all of you to be able to."

"EXO can't have a comeback without Chen." Chanyeol gave his leg a squeeze. "Our fans would've understood if we had to delay it. It was your father. None of us could continue if the news of your father wasn't good." His eyes fell to Jongdae's fingers. Band-aids covered his thumbs and forefingers from his efforts to restart his broken phone. Tears came to his eyes as he thought of the different ways he had hurt his brother today. "I'm sorry I made you miss that call."

Jongdae reached over with his good hand and Chanyeol gripped it. "The truth is, even if you hadn't taken the phone from me, I'm not sure I had the strength to answer. I was too scared the news was bad."

"You had us." Minseok sat on the side of the bed and rubbed his shoulder. "I would've given you all the strength you needed."

"Thank you." Jongdae forced past the lump in his throat. "I still might need it." He snuggled further under Minseok's jacket. His body refused to warm up.

Minseok wrapped his arm around Jongdae and pulled him against him. He frowned at Jongdae's bony shoulder. "Have you eaten at all in the past few days?" Jongdae didn't answer. "Aye! How did you get through practice?" He sighed, "How did I not see that you weren't eating?" Jongdae tucked himself further against his brother but didn't say anything. "Jongdae-ah." He sighed.

Chanyeol watched Jongdae rest against his best friend. He smiled. Jongdae always acted like a kid with Minseok. He spoiled him the way an older brother could. Chanyeol knew why Minseok treated Jongdae like a kid brother. It was because Jongdae took care of the people around him that Minseok felt the need to take care of him. Which was why Minseok was feeling so bad that he didn't see how sick Jongdae was. It wasn't his fault. With their schedule being so packed, no one had time to worry about anything else. "We won't leave his side until he's healthy again. Don't worry, hyung."

Minseok nodded, even though it was impossible for him not to worry about Jongdae. He could feel Jongdae's breathing even out as he fell asleep against him. He smiled, "He must be so exhausted." Chanyeol leaned over the bed and smiled as well at the peaceful look on Jongdae as he slept.

Jongdae jolted awake when to the room opened. Dr Park and Hyunkyun walked in "You're a lucky man, Jongdae-ssi." The doctor spoke to him. "How did you come by your injuries?"

Jongdae looked around confused. "It's just the doctor." Minseok rubbed his shoulder. "He's asking how you got injured?"

Jongdae blinked owlishly at Minseok before he turned to the doctor. He knew how much trouble he was going to be in as soon as he revealed the truth. "I fell down the stairs." Chanyeol and Minseok eyes widened while their manager shook his head at him.

"We'll talk about this later." Hyunkyun promised. Jongdae nodded, remorsefully.

"I'm going to discharged you on a few conditions." Jongdae was pleasantly surprised. He thought he would be stuck for a few days. "You can't go home until that IV bag is empty. Your fever is causing you to dehydrate. You are not to put any weight on your ankle for a week and then you are not to put too much strain on your ankle for another two weeks." Minseok could see Jongdae doing the calculation in his head. He might just be able to get better before the Comeback. "After that you can try to get back to your normal routine but you are not to over work that ankle or you could cause permanent damage."

"Yes, doctor." Jongdae was a good patient. He always followed instructions because he knew the importance of staying healthy and getting enough rest. This was why he always took care of the others. He wanted them to always be at their best.

"Your wrist isn't hurt too badly. It should recover in two weeks or so. Again, don't put too much strain on it." Jongdae nodded. "As for your concussion. You may feel dizzy in the next few days which is another reason why it's important for you to stay in bed. We can't have you falling down the stairs again." Jongdae ducked his head sheepishly making Minseok and Chanyeol laugh. He looked up and smiled at them. It was good to hear Chanyeol laugh again. He missed it. "That's everything." The doctor pointed at Minseok and Chanyeol. "I'm counting on you two to make sure he does what he's told." With that the doctor left them to work out how to get back home. The manager was already making calls again. He would be on crisis-management for a while.

* * *

Back home, the others were waiting anxiously for their sick member to return home. Chanyeol had called them to tell them Jongdae would be fine but they still needed to see him with their own eyes. It was Baekhyun who heard the door. He ran over and opened the door that lead to the garage under their apartment. He was greeted by a 'sssshhhh' from Minseok. Baekhyun looked behind him and saw that Jongdae was asleep in Chanyeol's arms. He worried because Jongdae must be exhausted to allow Chanyeol to carry him. Jongdae was light but carrying a full-grown man in his arms like that must be straining on his muscles. Baekhyun quickly made his way back into the living room where everyone was waiting. He put a finger to his lips to stop them from bombarding the returning members with questions. Chanyeol continued up the steps to the level where Jongdae's bedroom was. Minseok followed them to make sure Jongdae was settled comfortably in his bed before heading back downstairs and leaving Chanyeol to watch over him while he told the others what the doctor had told them.

* * *

Chanyeol closed the door to Jongdae's room, leaving it only slightly ajar. Jongdae and Minseok's room was the first one, once you reached their floor so the noise from the living room tended to travel up to the room. He didn't want the talking to disturb Jongdae's rest. Chanyeol made himself comfortable on Minseok's bed and waited. He was relieved that Jongdae wasn't angry with him but he could never forgive himself for what he had done. Jongdae was already going through so much on his own. Chanyeol laid on his side, watching Jongdae sleep. "I promise I'll take care of you, brother."

* * *

Baekhyun let out a long breath after listening to Minseok list Jongdae's extensive injuries. It did explain why Jongdae let Chanyeol carry him in. Jongdae was always a good patient. They all were because they knew not listening would keep them from the stage. "So no dancing for him for three weeks at least."

"I can't believe he fell down the steps and wasn't going to tell us. Was he planning to just practice with an injured ankle and concussion?" Jongin was not impressed with his hyung. When Jongin was injured during their last tour, Jongdae made sure he didn't push himself. He'd make sure he wasn't on his feet for long periods of time. Wherever Jongin was, Jongdae was never far away. "He should know better. I don't know how many times he yelled at me when I pushed myself."

Junmyeon smiled. It wasn't often Jongin got mad like this. He knew it was all out of his concern for Jongdae who was always the one taking care of them, especially the younger ones. "I don't think he intentionally withheld his injuries. He was too worried about his family to worry about anything else. We all know Jongdae well enough to know he never does anything that could jeopardise his performance. He even makes sure to get enough sleep which is a hard thing to do in our business."

"I wish he spoke to us about his family." Sehun had kept it together but the more he thought about how much Jongdae was going through on his own, the more his heart ached.

"Me too Sehunnie, but he didn't want it to affect us. He knew, none of us would be able to focus knowing what was happening back home. I've never really met Jongdae's family but all of your families are mine as well." Yixing felt a little embarrassed saying that but it was true. They were one big extended family. They felt each other's joys and pains. "If I were Jongdae, I might've done the same thing. Plus, he didn't know for sure. What's the point of worrying us if it was all going to turn out to be okay?"

"How is Chanyeol?" Junmyeon asked of the other beagle. He saw the determined look on Chanyeol's face as he carried Jongdae to the room. He was still berating himself for losing his temper at Jongdae in front of everyone. Baekhyun rolled his eyes at the question not at all concerned for Chanyeol. It was strange because Baekhyun and Chanyeol were best friends.

Minseok was worried as well. Chanyeol may be putting on a big smile, but during the ride home from the hospital, he didn't take his eyes off Jongdae. "Jongdae's not mad at him. In fact, he apologised for making him feel betrayed. I know it was not Jongdae's intention but I think that made Chanyeol feel even worse. It probably would've been better if Jongdae yelled and screamed at him."

"Well, you know Jongdae," Junmyeon sighed, "He would yell and scream if he thought it was warranted. Looks like we'll have to help Chanyeol get through this guilt he's feeling." Again, Baekhyun looked as if he didn't care. Junmyeon worried. It seemed like he had to manage the team from all angles.

"How are we going to organise taking care of Jongdae? We have to be at practice if we're going to perfect the choreography." Kyungsoo worried.

"I've spoken to our managers. We're going to clear this living room and use it as our studio for the week." The leader revealed to them. "Tomorrow morning, equipment and mirrors are going to be delivered. It won't be as big as the studio at headquarters but it's enough room for our practice."

"And once Jongdae can practice, I can help him catch up." Jongin smiled proudly, knowing he could help his friend.

"That's a good idea, Jongin." Sehun looked at their leader, "And I can help."

Junmyeon grinned, "I told Hyunkyun that we'd sort this out. EXO takes care of their own." He swung his arms around Sehun and Minseok's shoulders, who were sitting on either side of him. "As long as we are together we can get through this. Let's all get some rest. It's late and everyone's exhausted."

* * *

Minseok sighed as he considered his room. Chanyeol was asleep in his bed. He didn't have the heart to wake him but he wondered where he was going to sleep. He couldn't sleep in Chanyeol and Baekhyun's room. It was too messy. He shrugged and went over to the cupboard with all the spare sheets and blankets. He laid down one doona on the carpet and dropped a pillow at the head. For tonight, he'd sleep in the middle of the room and watch over both beagles. He was about to close his eyes when a pillow and doona was dropped down beside him. It was Baekhyun. "What are you doing?" Minseok whispered.

"I'm a beagle too." Baekhyun said simply before pulling the second doona up to his shoulders. Minseok shook his head. What could he do? Baekhyun was feeling as guilty as the rest of them.

* * *

Baekhyun stared up at the ceiling. He wasn't sure he could sleep tonight. He was worried about Jongdae and he was angry at Chanyeol. He remembered the day Jongdae and he had found Chanyeol on the rooftop. He was so angry. Baekhyun and Jongdae stayed with him. But most of all, he remembered Jongdae's words. _"I promise both of you, no matter what happens down the line I will always talk to you first before I make any decisions. I will never do what Kris did. I will never hurt you that way."_ How could Chanyeol so easily believe that Jongdae would break his promise? And why didn't he talk to Baekhyun about it? If he had opened up, anyone of them would have reassured him and it would've brought their attention to Jongdae. This could've all been avoided if only Chanyeol had said something! Now, Jongdae was going to worry about him instead of concentrating on his own recovery because that is Jongdae; a caring and considerate man who always thought of others before himself.

"Your thoughts are so noisy I can hear them from here." Baekhyun jumped at the voice. He frowned when he saw that Chanyeol and Minseok were asleep. "I'm over here." Baekhyun turned around to find Jongdae wincing as he tried to push himself up with his good arm. He quickly got up, trying to not disturb the other two.

"What are you trying to do?" Baekhyun whispered harshly as he pushed Jongdae back down, careful of his injured right side. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

Jongdae groaned, "My back's sore. I tried to turn but my arm started throbbing and then I saw you lying there, not saying a word and I knew something was wrong." Baekhyun rolled his eyes at the attempted joke but he wasn't in the mood to laugh. He reached over and turned on Jongdae's reading light. "Come on, Baekhyun, that was funny."

Baekhyun shook his head. "It was barely funny. I thought I taught you better." He reached down and gently helped Jongdae sit up. "Let me see your back."

Jongdae let Baekhyun sit up but didn't let him pull up his jumper. "Why? You're not a doctor. What can you do?" He knew Baekhyun wanted to see the damage because he was blaming himself.

"Just let me see." Baekhyun reached over but Jongdae pushed his hands away.

"Not if you just want to blame yourself for it." Jongdae accused. Baekhyun had to smile. He was just thinking Jongdae had a sixth-sense when it came to his brothers. "Are you all blaming yourselves for this?" Baekhyun winced. Jongdae sighed. "Great. I've really caused a mess this time."

"What?!" Baekhyun exclaimed, incredulously.

"Sssshhhh…" Jongdae looked over to make sure they didn't wake Chanyeol or Minseok. "It's true." He continued when he saw they were dead to the world. "If I had just told everyone from the beginning, this could've been all avoided."

Baekhyun had to admit that it was a true statement but… "You did what any of us would've."

"Then why are you all blaming yourselves?"

 _I'm not only blaming myself, I'm blaming Chanyeol,_ Baekhyun thought but knew better than to say it out loud to Jongdae. Instead, he dropped his head and looked away. "Because it hurts to see you hurting so much. It hurts to know how much pain you were in while you waited for news on your father. We all saw you break down." Jongdae saw the tear drop as Baekhyun spoke. "We cried because there was nothing we could do. Crying with you was all we could do because you didn't let us be with you for the hardest part."

Jongdae pulled his friend into his arms and let him cry into his shoulder despite the pain in his shoulders and arm. "They're my family and you're my family. They were already so scared. I couldn't be there for them but at least I could protect this family from feeling the same fear." Jongdae hugged Baekhyun tighter. "I couldn't do that to any of you."

Baekhyun pulled back and shook his head, disagreeing with what Jongdae did. "You didn't have to protect us. You should have let us protect you. Remember, we are one!" He told his friend, determinedly, "The joy we feel is multiplied by nine but the pain we feel is divided by nine!"

Jongdae looked into Baekhyun's eyes which were shimmering with unshed tears. There was nothing he could say to those words. He nodded before pulling his brother into his arms again. When he could finally speak he said, "I promise I won't forget that again." He smiled when he felt Baekhyun nod against his shoulder. He waited until the pain in his back, shoulders and arm could no longer be ignored. "Do you think you can get me my pain meds?"

Baekhyun quickly pulled back, forgetting that his brother was in pain. "Of course!" He wiped away his tears and looked around the room. The bag of meds was sitting on Jongdae's desk. He tipped out two pills and poured a glass of water for Jongdae to wash it down.

"Thanks, Baekhyun." Jongdae let Baekhyun lie him back down.

"Lay on your left side. It'll ease the pressure off your back." Baekhyun suggested as he gently rolled him onto his side. "How's that?"

Jongdae closed his eyes. "Better. Thanks."

"Throw one of your teddy bears at me if you need anything." Jongdae chuckled sleepily. Baekhyun waited until Jongdae's breathing evened out before laying back down and falling asleep himself. It was an exhausting day for everyone.

* * *

Minseok winced at every loud bang the workers made as they brought in the equipment for their makeshift studio. "Sssh…" He was trying his hardest to be polite but these men had more work after and were trying to finish this as quickly as possible. The sudden change in EXO's practice venue has put extra strain on the company and its employees. Minseok understood but they weren't considering Jongdae at all. Surely, they were told why they were here. The fifth loud crash was the last straw. "Either keep the noise down or I will make sure this is your last job for good!" Minseok yelled at the men in the room.

Junmyeon, who was at the door, guiding them up the stairs, quickly ran up upon hearing the outburst. "I'm sorry." He quickly pulled Minseok aside, letting the worker get back to his job.

* * *

Jongdae groaned when a loud crash outside pulled him out of his sleep. He tried to push himself up but his back and shoulders were stiff. He groaned again and was about to give up when another crash and then his best friend's angry voice traveled into their room. Jongdae frown. "What's going on?" He gritted his teeth as he pulled himself up. Once he was up, he arched his back, stretching it until the muscles loosened. When he was ready to move, he pulled the blanket off, then winced at his bandaged right ankle. He did promise to stay off it, but something was going on in the living room and Minseok sounded extremely angry. He figured if he hopped his way downstairs he'd still be keeping his promise to keep weight off it.

* * *

Jongdae successfully made it to the steps but that small distance already caused him to sweat profusely. He looked down the stairs and saw their leader speaking softly to an irate Minseok. Jongdae took a breath before continuing his way down the steps. He made it down three steps before someone from behind called out to him, shocking him. Jongdae recognised the deep voice.

* * *

Chanyeol had only left the room for five minutes to relieve himself and wash-up for the day. He was shocked to say the least when he returned to find Jongdae's bed empty. "Darn it." He swore softly to himself as he went to find his friend. He didn't have to go far. He found Jongdae halfway down the stairs to the living room. "Where do you think you're going?"

Chanyeol's voice travelled down the stairs to the workers and Minseok and Junmyeon. Minseok's eyes widened in horror when he saw Jongdae's death grip on the rails. "What the hell…?" He rushed over and quickly took Jongdae's weight, while Chanyeol took the other side. Jongdae looked as if he was about to drop. "What are you thinking?" He nodded to Chanyeol, "Let's get him back in bed."

"Wait." Jongdae said, breathlessly. "I'm already here. Can't I rest on the couch?" He looked around frowning. "Where is our couch?"

"We're practicing here and no, you can't rest on the couch. It'll be too noisy. You can't rest." Minseok made to take him back upstairs when Jongdae called out to his leader, "Hyung!" He begged his soft-hearted leader.

Junmyeon gave a half-hearted glare and straight away Jongdae knew he won the argument. "Let him stay down here. I'll tell them to bring the couch back in."

"Why are you such a pushover?" Chanyeol complained, not happy Jongdae wouldn't be resting in his room.

Junmyeon rolled his eyes. "We can keep an eye on him down here. Up in his room, one of us will always have to be with him."

"I have no problem with that." Chanyeol shrugged. He was planning to do that anyway.

"Jongdae will already be missing practice. We can't afford to have anyone else miss out as well." Junmyeon tried to get the two to see reason.

Jongdae grinned at his leader, "See? There's a reason why you were made leader."

Junmyeon couldn't help but returned the infectious grin. "Get him down here before he collapses." He ordered the other two. Then he pointed at Jongdae, "Don't you dare move from the couch without my permission."

"Yes, sir!"

The couch was down in the garage so they sat him at the mini-kitchen bench until the couch was brought back up.

Chanyeol worried at the sweat beading across Jongdae's brow. He placed the back of his fingers against his friend's forehead. "You're a little warm."

Jongdae smiled at his concern. "It just took more energy than expected to get down here." He frowned when Minseok also felt his forehead. "Hyung!"

"Don't try that with me." Minseok ignored his whine. "I'm not our leader."

Jongdae grinned cheekily, "No, you're more of a pushover than he is."

Chanyeol laughed, "He has a point. You get everything for us."

Junmyeon handed Jongdae a glass of milk. He had in his hand a bag of meds. "You have to take your antibiotics. The others are coming back soon with breakfast but I don't want you to forget it. I don't believe your warmth is just because of the effort it took to get down here." Jongdae reluctantly allowed a third person to feel his brow. He took the antibiotics with the milk and then took two painkillers. Junmyeon frowned. "How bad is it?"

Jongdae gave him small smile and shook his head. "The doctor said I should take it before the pain gets bad, otherwise it won't be as effective."

"Oh! So, you do listen to the doctor." Minseok said sarcastically. Jongdae just stuck his tongue out at him.

The workers walked in carrying the white three-seater couch. "Put it under the window at the end of the room." Junmyeon requested. "Thanks for your hard work." He bowed as did Chanyeol and Jongdae. Jongdae frowned when Minseok didn't. It wasn't like his friend to be so impolite.

"We're sorry for all the noise." One of the workers apologised.

Jongdae smiled at them. "It's hard to move such big equipment without making noise. I'm sorry I caused more work for you." He nudged Minseok, knowing he was angry that they had woken him up. He nudged him again when he didn't respond.

Minseok sighed, "I'm sorry too. I know you're just doing your job." Jongdae grinned at him. He really was a pushover. The workers bowed again before leaving. "Come on." Minseok pulled his good arm over his shoulder. "Let's get you onto that couch."

Minseok and Chanyeol led him over to the couch while Junmyeon stacked up some pillows so that Jongdae could sit up and stretch his legs out. Chanyeol handed him a tablet and headphones. There was an app on Jongdae's tablet that taught Mandarin. Jongdae was always trying to improve his Mandarin so that he could talk to his Chinese fans. Now that only Yixing was left from the Chinese members, Jongdae wanted to take a little pressure off him and show the Chinese fans that EXO will not neglect them. "Thanks, Chanyeol."

"Whatever you need, just call me." Chanyeol told him.

"I'll be fine as soon as the others get back with breakfast. I'm starving." Jongdae complained. "What's taking them so long? Don't they know how important the first meal of the day is?"

"How can we forget?! You write a new post-it note every morning and stick it on our fridge." Baekhyun called out as he came in through the garage door. "Special delivery for our special vocalist and beagle." He sang out to his friend.

"What about us?" Their leader complained. The others followed Baekhyun up the stairs, holding bags of breakfast. Baekhyun went into the small kitchen and got out the plates. He ignored everyone else and quickly put Jongdae's meal on a plate and then grabbed a lap tray from the cabinets. Everyone else got their own meals ready.

"Jajangmyeon!" Baekhyun announced to Jongdae as he sat on the edge of the couch, placing the tray on Jongdae's lap. "Your favourite." He handed Jongdae the chopsticks but paused when Jongdae lifted his right hand revealing his bandaged wrist. "Crap." He cursed as he started to look uncomfortable. He was thinking he would have to feed his friend, which was awkward to say the least.

Jongdae laughed, "It's fine. Get me a fork and I can eat with my left hand."

Baekhyun grinned, "Good thinking."

* * *

Jongdae smiled sleepily at his team members practicing the new dance moves with the choreographer. The choreographer stood in for Jongdae so that the other members can see how Jongdae fits into the choreography. Baekhyun studied their teacher as he showed them and Jongdae his moves in the choreography. Baekhyun had a gift for remembering dance moves so he took it upon himself to remember it to help Sehun and Jongin later when they showed Jongdae the dance choreography. Jongdae's eyes slowly drifted closed.

Chanyeol kept one eye on Jongdae as they practiced. He found it hard to concentrate because he was worried about his friend. He'd stepped on Jongin's feet a few times and bumped into Kyungsoo even more times. "Chanyeol. Please concentrate." Their choreographer reprimanded. Chanyeol bowed apologetically and was about to give his full attention to the practice when he noticed Jongdae's head move and his brow crinkle. "Is he okay?" He asked no one in particular, as he walked up to the couch. Yixing followed. "Jongdae." Chanyeol called softly. "Jongdae."

Yixing placed a hand against his brow. "His fever has lowered." He crouched at his head. "Jongdae!" Jongdae slowly opened his eyes, groaning at the headache that had grown during his restless sleep. "Take it easy." Yixing advised when Jongdae tried to lift his head.

"Should I call the doctor?" Chanyeol asked, concerned that his friend's concussion was worse than they thought.

Jongdae groaned again, but this time at Chanyeol's worry. "I'm fine, Chanyeol. Stop mothering me."

Chanyeol turned to the others looking incredulous and waving at Jongdae with exaggerated gestures. "What? Mothering?" The others laughed, including their choreographer. "Coming from Jongdae?!"

"Hey, Jongdae Hyung! Now you know how I felt when I injured my ankle." Jongin chuckled at his irate look.

"That was different." Jongdae complained. He winced as he tried to adjust himself into a more comfortable position. Yixing removed some of the pillows and helped him lie on his side. "Thanks, Xing Ge."

"Do you need more meds?" Yixing asked him, still concerned Jongdae was holding back the pain to keep them from worrying.

"I'm okay. It was just getting uncomfortable on my back." Jongdae placated him and the others, then curled up a little, rubbing his arms. Yixing looked up at the vents. They were blowing cool air.

Chanyeol did the same. "I'll get a quilt for him." They were hot from dancing all morning that none of them thought about the air conditioner being too strong for Jongdae, especially in his weakened condition. Chanyeol returned with a doona from the room and helped Yixing lay it over their friend.

"Thanks." Jongdae mumbled sleepily. The warmth of the quilt was already lulling him back to sleep.

Yixing gently brushed back Jongdae's hair. "I'll feel better when his fever finally breaks."

Junmyeon walked over to the two. "Come on. Let's get back to practice. He'll be fine. Stop worrying, otherwise we'll never get this choreography down."

* * *

They continued their practice and this time Chanyeol gave his full attention to the dance. It was coming together well and they were all very proud of their progress. It almost felt like a normal practice when a sudden thud and then cry of pain came from their sick friend.

"JONGDAE!"

Chanyeol rushed over with the two eldest members right behind him. "Jongdae!"

Jongdae was on the floor. During his sleep, he had rolled over and fell on his back, sending pain through his body. He curled up into a tight ball. "Jongdae." He could hear his friends calling him but he couldn't get his voice to work past the pain. He felt someone guiding him up and leaning him against their chest. "Jongdae, tell us you're okay." The voice begged. It was Chanyeol. It wasn't until he felt someone lift his shirt that he forced himself to speak.

"I'm okay." Jongdae grilled past his clenched jaw. "Don't worry." But he knew it was too late when he heard gasps of shocks around him.

Chanyeol's hand came up to Jongdae's head, unknowingly hugging him tighter to his chest as Junmyeon revealed the mural of bruises covering Jongdae's back. He felt the need to protect his friend again, although he didn't know from what. He could feel Jongdae trembling from his efforts to push down the pain as well as the death grip he had on the arm that was wrapped around his front.

"Here." Chanyeol looked up at the voice. It was Yixing holding two painkillers. Jongdae opened his eyes, looking at the hand holding the pill, blearily. He tried to lift his hand to take the medicine but he was finding it difficult to control his own body. "I'll help you." Yixing held the pills to Jongdae's mouth before holding a glass of water to his lips, waiting for him to take enough mouthfuls to wash down his meds.

Chanyeol felt himself taking more of Jongdae's weight. "I think we should get you back to your room. You can't sleep on the couch again." He had to chuckle when Jongdae shook his head defiantly and snuggled further into his chest. "Who'd have thought you'd be such a baby when you're sick?" The others smiled at the joke, although they were also worried that Jongdae didn't have a response for it. The truth was, Jongdae didn't trust himself to talk until the pain meds kicked in. The fall jarred all his injuries.

Chanyeol looked up at each of his friends, silently asking what they should do. It was Baekhyun who came up with a solution. "I know the choreography now. I can stay with Jongdae and watch him. I won't let him fall again." Baekhyun looked over at the choreographer to make sure he agreed. The man nodded. He admired this group. Out of all the boy groups he worked with, EXO were the hardest working and they did it all without complaint.

Chanyeol felt the grip on his arm loosen. "I think the meds are starting to kicking in."

Baekhyun knelt in front of him. "Let's get him on the couch and then you all can get back to practicing." Chanyeol was surprised when he heard Baekhyun talking to him. His friend hadn't said a word to him since he blew up at Jongdae at the studio. However, when he looked up at him, Baekhyun avoided his gaze. Instead, he put a hand on Jongdae's shoulder, ignoring Chanyeol. "Jongdae…" He gently shook the man's shoulder. "We're going to help you back up, okay?" Jongdae opened his tired eyes. He felt miserable. Baekhyun smiled sadly. "You were right." His friend frowned at him, confused. "There's nothing I can do about your injuries. I don't know why I wanted to see it last night." He wiped away a tear that rolled down his cheeks. "I can't do anything." He said in choked whisper.

Yixing reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "You're doing everything."

Jongdae held out his hand, "Help me up." His voice was weak, barely a whisper. Baekhyun nodded at both his friends, knowing they were both trying to comfort him. He stood and then reached down, taking Jongdae's arm. He was careful of the bandaged wrist. Baekhyun was about to lead him back on the couch with Chanyeol's help, when Jongdae pulled him into his arms, surprising him. Jongdae hugged him with as much strength as his body allowed him. "It's enough that you're here…" He looked around at Junmyeon, Jongin, Kyungsoo, Sehun and Minseok. Behind him he felt Yixing and Chanyeol's hands on his shoulders. "It's enough that you're all here. I'm going to be okay. Just give me some time."

Baekhyun hugged him as tight as he dared to. "As long as you need." He could feel Jongdae growing heavier in his arms. "Come on. Let's get you on the couch before you fall over." He released his hold on Jongdae, guiding him to the couch with Chanyeol supporting him from behind.

Once he was laying comfortably on his good side, Minseok laid the doona over him again. He knelt in front of his best friend. "We're going to order some dinner soon. Do you have any requests?"

"Jajangmyeon." The eight of them said at the same time, laughing. If Jongdae was allowed, he would order his favourite dish for every meal. Just as Jongin would order fried chicken.

Jongdae smiled a drug-fueled smile, "Yes please." Minseok put a gentle hand on the man he considered his younger brother. "Go to sleep. I'll wake you when the food is here."

"Thanks, hyung…" Jongdae mumbled as he snuggled further under the doona until you could only see the top of his head. Baekhyun dropped a couple of cushions on the floor and sat down, ready to keep vigil as his friend slept.

Chanyeol walked back to the practice area, sighing. "How long until he's back to his old self? I miss his whining already."

Kyungsoo threw his arm over Chanyeol's shoulder, "I'm sure the three beagles will be back to their old cheeky selves soon."

"I wouldn't count on it." Baekhyun said with a tinge of anger. The eldest members looked at each other with concern. They understood why Chanyeol was taking this so hard but they weren't sure why Baekhyun was acting so strange? There was a tension between Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

Minseok leaned over and whispered in Junmyeon's ears. "You take care of these two beagles. Yixing and I can take care Jongdae." Yixing nodded to them both, agreeing to the plan. They were both closer to Jongdae due to their time together in China as EXO-M. They've always taken care of each other. Yixing took it upon himself, in China, to make sure they ate and slept well. Kris may have been their leader, but Yixing was the one who watched over them. "Maybe you can get them both talking to you and find out why Baekhyun is acting like Chanyeol's his worst enemy."

Junmyeon shook his head. "I have a feeling only Jongdae can get them to talk about it."

Yixing sighed, "Do what you can for now? Jongdae's too sick to worry about them. He needs to be able to rest without any worries otherwise his recovery will just take longer."

"I'll tell them that I've put you two in charge of Jongdae's recovery." Junmyeon decided. "But not until after Jongdae's gone to bed. He doesn't need to hear it."

"We'll talk to them together. I don't want them to think this was all your idea and get angry at you." Yixing pointed out. "We do everything as a team." With that decided, they got back to practicing.

* * *

That night, after Minseok and Yixing settled Jongdae in his bed, they gathered in Junmyeon's room which was a floor above Jongdae's and hence the least likely Jongdae will overhear anything. "Shouldn't one of us be downstairs with Jongdae?" Chanyeol asked, worried and irritated that their leader insisted on this meeting.

"He'll be fine. I gave him his pain meds as well as a couple of diazepams to help him sleep." Yixing told them.

Chanyeol grumbled, "Fine! Why are we here?"

"We need to work some sort of schedule for the next couple of weeks while Jongdae's recovering." Junmyeon told them. "I want Jongin and Sehun to work closely with our choreographer, so on the days we are practicing on our own, maybe you two can head to the studio and work with him." Jongin and Sehun had no problem with that. That was the easy part of this meeting. "Minseok and Yixing are going to take turns in taking care of Jongdae, making sure he's resting and following the doctor's orders." Chanyeol and Baekhyun frowned at that.

"Isn't it better to rotate between all of us?" Baekhyun asked.

"It's better if there is some consistency in his care. The more of us there are the more confusing it can become when it comes to his meds and relaying information to the managers." Junmyeon reasoned. He knew he had to use reason with these boys otherwise they would refuse their request.

"Okay, that makes sense, but why Minseok and Yixing? Why not Baekhyun and me?" Chanyeol asked.

"Or me and Minseok hyung." Chanyeol glared at Baekhyun. It seemed Chanyeol was getting sick of his friend's attitude towards him.

Junmyeon ignored the obvious jibe at Chanyeol for now. "Well, for one, Jongdae and Minseok share a room and Yixing used to share a room with Jongdae. They both know what he needs. He's been sick in China before and they've taken care of him so this isn't new for them." He reasoned again.

Kyungsoo stayed silent as they talked about Jongdae's care. He knew what the eldest members were doing. They wanted Chanyeol and Baekhyun focused on something else other than Jongdae. The two have been the most distracted out of all of them. "That makes sense." Kyungsoo agreed, showing his support and hoping the others would follow suit. Sehun and Jongin nodded in agreement.

Chanyeol sighed, knowing he couldn't go against the majority. "Fine." He grumbled, not happy with the arrangement.

"Alright." Baekhyun agreed as well.

"Good. That's the plan then." Junmyeon announced, "Let's get some rest. Baekhyun..."

"I'm really tired." Baekhyun got up and walked out before his leader could stop him.

Junmyeon sighed and turned to Chanyeol. Chanyeol shrugged at him, "Don't ask me about him. All I get from him are dirty looks." He told them before leaving. Junmyeon stood there with his hands on his hips, looking unimpressed and extremely frustrated.

Kyungsoo winced, "I don't think they realise how rude they're being." He tried to keep the beagles out of trouble.

Junmyeon shook his head, "I don't care about that. This whole situation is messed up. I'm not happy with the way their handling it. I've always said we must talk about any disagreements. Usually I can't stop these two from talking! What the hell is wrong with them?"

Sehun put a hand on his leader's shoulder, "I'm sure they'll be okay."

Junmyeon shook his head, "If their attitude causes Jongdae to start worrying over them, I'm going to lock them in their room until they work it out!" He growled.

Minseok chuckled, "Don't worry fearless leader. It's why we made this arrangement, so that they don't make Jongdae worry."

"Come on. Let's go to sleep." Yixing told them.

* * *

 **The next morning…**

Jongdae groaned at the sun coming through the slit in the curtain. The bright light aggravated his concussion. He pulled the blanket over his head hoping the darkness would help his headache but it was too late. The bump on his head made itself known and it wasn't going away without this meds. Jongdae pushed himself up at the same time Yixing walked into his room. "Jongdae, you're awake." He chuckled at the grumpy expression. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he sat down on the bed.

Jongdae rubbed the top of his head, pouting. "My head hurts." He complained. When his hand dropped Yixing couldn't help but grin at Jongdae's hair sticking up everywhere. "Why are you so happy that my head hurts?" He whined.

Yixing patted down Jongdae's hair, smiling, "I'm not. You need to take your meds but you should eat something first." He stood up. "Come on. I'll help you to the bathroom. Do you want Jajangmyeon again?" Jongdae shook his head. He was feeling queasy. Yixing smiled sympathetically at him, "Headache's causing nausea huh?" He pulled Jongdae to his feet by his good arm. Jongdae leaned his forehead against Yixing's shoulder. Yixing sighed, "You really are feeling miserable this morning, aren't you?"

"Why do I feel worse today?" Jongdae mumbled.

Yixing lifted Jongdae's head and felt his forehead. It was too warm. "Hmmm…did you sleep well?" Jongdae thought about the question and then shrugged. Yixing sighed. He'll need to ask Minseok. "Let's go wash up." He pulled Jongdae's arm over his shoulder, letting Jongdae use him as a crutch. "Take it easy." Yixing worried because Jongdae wasn't whining but that changed as soon as he saw Minseok.

"Hyung!" Jongdae cried as soon as Minseok walked out of the bathroom, "Hyung, I don't feel well!"

"Wae?" Minseok walked up to him. Jongdae threw his arms around his brother as soon as he was within reach, "What's wrong?"

"His head's hurting." Yixing reported, smiling at how cute Jongdae was acting.

"Ah. You were tossing a lot last night. It probably aggravated your concussion." Minseok ran his hand up and down Jongdae's back. "After breakfast you can take your meds and then go back to sleep. Kyungsoo made congee for you."

Yixing gently pulled Minseok off his brother, "Go put your stuff away. I'll take care of him."

"Thanks. I'll be in our room, okay?" Minseok promised Jongdae. He smiled sympathetically as Yixing lead him away looking miserable.

* * *

Jongdae looked at himself in the mirror. His pale complexion scared even himself. He rubbed at his throat, feeling small tickle there. His concussion wasn't the only reason for his headache today. He was getting a cold as well. He could feel it.

"What's wrong?" Yixing asked him after he rinsed his mouth.

Jongdae turned to him, worried because he knew his friends' concerns were going to go into overdrive, "I think I'm getting a cold." Yixing sighed. It was the last thing Jongdae needed. "It's not too bad."

Yixing smiled at Jongdae's attempt to ease his worries. "Not yet." Yixing corrected him. "It explains why you seem worse today. Well, you need to rest anyway. Hopefully it doesn't get too bad." He swiped his hand up and down Jongdae's back. "Brush your teeth and then I'll help you get changed."

Jongdae nodded, "'kay." It sounded good. He hated staying in his pyjamas even if he was staying at home all day.

* * *

Minseok went downstairs to get a bowl of congee for Jongdae only to find it was already on a tray with a glass of warm milk. What was also ready was Minseok and Yixing's breakfast; bread rolls and cappuccino. "Wow! What time did they wake up?" He asked himself when someone behind him answered.

"Well, you won't let us take care of Jongdae so this is all we can do." Baekhyun growled at him.

Minseok sighed, "It's not that we're not letting you…"

"I'm not stupid." Baekhyun interrupted, "I know you're trying to keep me and Chanyeol away from Jongdae so that we can talk but it's not going to work. I'm not talking to him."

"Baekhyun, I don't understand. I know Chanyeol was wrong but he didn't cause any of Jongdae's injuries. This was happening before Chanyeol blew up." Minseok tried to reason but he could see he wasn't getting through to their mood-maker.

"This is between the two of us. Don't worry. You just take care of Jongdae."

Minseok shook his head as he picked up the tray, "Keep in mind that Jongdae is very sensitive to our moods. He doesn't need to worry about the two of you."

"I know and I know that's why you're all keeping Chanyeol and I away from him." Baekhyun walked over to the practice area and started his warm up.

Minseok carried the tray up to his room. They should've known Baekhyun would catch onto what they were planning. He always was the quick thinker. He hoped this problem with Chanyeol and Baekhyun gets resolved soon. As much as he knew Baekhyun and Chanyeol wouldn't let their problem affect the team, it would still cause a rift if they let it go on for too long.

* * *

Yixing was settling Jongdae on his bed when Minseok walked in with the tray. Yixing tucked a few extra pillows behind Jongdae so that he could sit up without holding himself up. "Breakfast is served." Minseok called cheerfully as he set the tray on Jongdae's table. He handed Yixing his roll before sitting on the bed with Jongdae's bowl of congee. "Can you eat on your own?" Minseok asked him. Jongdae nodded, although he was pouting. Minseok watched as Jongdae smiled at the first spoonful of congee. It was exactly what he needed. He'd have to remember to tell Kyungsoo how much Jongdae appreciated his efforts.

Yixing sat on Minseok's bed and gestured for the eldest to join him. Minseok nodded, seeing as Jongdae seemed fine feeding himself. "What is it?"

"Jongdae has a sore throat. He might be getting sick." Yixing revealed.

Minseok sighed. They didn't need this. The cold was already affecting his injuries if it got any worse, he worried Jongdae would be back in the hospital. "We might need to call our doctor. Maybe he can give Jongdae something to ease the symptoms."

"I'll talk to Junmyeon." Yixing assured him.

"You know it's not nice to talk about someone who's in the room with you?" They grinned at the grumpy look Jongdae was giving them. "I'm finished." Jongdae held out the empty bowl to them.

Minseok got up and picked up Jongdae's milk, exchanging the bowl for the glass. He grabbed Jongdae's meds from his draw, "Here you go." He gave him two antibiotics and two pain meds. Jongdae took them without complaint which showed how bad he must be feeling. Minseok finished off his roll and then sat down on the bed. "Here's the plan. Yixing and I are going to take turns taking care of you. The others will be downstairs practicing. They will come in every now and then but it'll mostly be Yixing and me, okay?" Jongdae nodded. His eyes were growing heavy. "Do you need anything?" Jongdae hugged his teddies to his chest and shook his head. Minseok smiled. "Okay. Go to sleep." Jongdae didn't need to be told twice. He closed his eyes and was asleep straight away.

* * *

The team could hear Jongdae coughing up his lungs from downstairs. No one was able to concentrate knowing how sick Jongdae was. Their doctor would be arriving soon but it wasn't soon enough for the members. "How much longer is Dr Kim going to take?" Baekhyun growled, looking at his watch. "Jongdae is barely breathing up there."

"Calm down, Baekhyun." Yixing told him. "It's nothing Minseok can't handle." He winced at the hacking. "We've handled worse in China." He lied. They've handled an injured Jongdae and a sick Jongdae but not both and not this severe.

* * *

Minseok rubbed tiger balm into Jongdae's back and chest. He tried not to press too hard on the bruises. Jongdae groaned and slumped against Minseok. The coughing made his headache intensify. "Everything hurts." Jongdae croaked.

"I know." Minseok laid back on the bed with Jongdae in his arms, "Doctor will be here soon. He'll give you something to help you."

"Probably a needle." Jongdae screwed up his face.

Minseok chuckled, "Probably, but you have to admit, you usually feel better after you get it."

Jongdae sighed, "Hyung?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't I hear Chanyeol and Baekhyun? They're very loud but I can't hear them."

There were days when he loved how caring Jongdae was but this wasn't one of them. He was proud of his brother but he wished he focused on himself at times like these. "They're quiet because they want you to rest you."

"But it's making me uncomfortable." Jongdae's whine was stopped by a couple of coughs.

"Hmmm…they can't win, can they? You don't like it when they're quiet but they get in trouble with Junmyeon if they're noisy." Minseok's looked after Jongdae enough times to know how to manipulate him.

"I don't want them to get in trouble." Jongdae admitted.

Minseok smiled to himself triumphantly, "So can you rest without their voices then?"

"Only if I must." Jongdae yawned. "I miss them already."

"Do you like them more than me?" Minseok said in a mockingly hurt tone. He grinned when Jongdae snuggled closer to him.

"NO! You're my big brother. I love you!" Jongdae said adamantly.

"Alright, go to sleep. I'll wake you when the doctor gets here." Minseok closed his own eyes, tired from taking care of Jongdae last night.

* * *

When the doctor came, he started an IV and injected a sedative and a cough suppressant. The medicine should allow Jongdae a good day's rest as well as keep up his fluids.

The medicine did exactly what the doctor said it would. Jongdae slept through the day and night and by morning the next day, he was feeling better. However, the better Jongdae felt the harder it was to keep him in bed. In short; Jongdae was bored. Yixing came up between practices to talk to him, which alleviated his boredom but it was still too quiet for the beagle. There were times when he would suddenly call out from his room, random comments like; _kill me now! Or you guys don't love me!_ That would make them laugh. Or he would start singing on the top of his voice, deliberately singing off-key and they knew they had better go up to check on him because singing off-key was extremely difficult for their main vocalist. When either Yixing or Minseok got up there he would be grinning from ear to ear, pleased that he could get them to come running. As much as he liked taking care of his brothers, he liked being taken care of too. As soon as they saw his grin they would turn back immediately. Even sick, he still had the energy to play tricks on his brothers.

* * *

The one week could not have gone slower. The doctor came to their home to check on Jongdae's recovery progress. Yixing and Minseok stayed as the doctor examined Jongdae's ankle. Yixing sat on Jongdae's bed and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, knowing his friend was worried that the doctor would find something more serious. He gripped Jongdae's shoulder when he felt his friend flinch as the doctor pushed his foot back, stressing the unused muscles. "Sorry." The doctor apologised but didn't stop the pressure he put on Jongdae's ankle. Jongdae struggled to not react to the pain. The doctor studied Jongdae's expression as he continued his examination. "How much does it hurt?"

"It's…ah!" Jongdae tugged his leg back reflexively. Minseok couldn't help but take a step closer as his protective senses took over. "I'm okay." Jongdae quickly said to Minseok, seeing the murderous look he had directed at the doctor. "That just took me by surprise. It's throbbing a little."

"Well I am putting strain on it so that's normal. You haven't used it in a week leading to the muscles being stiff but it's healing well. You can start walking around on it but don't over do it." Jongdae let out a breath in relief. "I'm going to give you an ankle brace. If you are walking around, keep it on. Use it until I tell you, you no longer need it."

"When can I start practicing?" Jongdae needed to get back to practice as soon as he could. He was one of the worse dancers in the group and usually needed more time to learn the moves.

"I'll talk to you about practice in two weeks."

Jongdae deflated, dropping his head on Yixing's shoulder. That only left a week for him to learn the choreography and even then, he would probably have to go easy. He wouldn't be able to give it his best for the comeback. Yixing looked at his pout and smiled, he shrugged his shoulder, nudging his friend. "At least you can get out of this room now."

Jongdae smiled and lifted his head, "Yeah!"

Minseok laughed at Jongdae's childish expression. "The little things in life, huh?"

"Let me look at your back and wrist and then you can get out of here." The doctor told them. Yixing got off the bed so that the doctor could check Jongdae's back. Yixing and Minseok watched as Jongdae only flinched a little as the doctor poked and prodded him. Jongdae was healing well. The doctor fixed the brace to Jongdae's ankle before leaving.

* * *

Chanyeol and Baekhyun sat up as soon as they saw Jongdae making his own way down the stairs to their makeshift studio. "What are you doing?" Chanyeol rushed up to him, glaring at the two older members behind him, who weren't helping Jongdae down but only watched.

"Chanyeol, I'm fine." Jongdae was grinning as he took small, careful steps. "Doctor said it was okay."

"Still shouldn't be walking on your own." He mumbled, taking Jongdae's arm above the elbow.

"I wanted to try on my own, Chanyeol. Stop glaring at the hyungs." Jongdae admonished him. He allowed Chanyeol to have a light hold on him, but would pull away as soon as his friend tried to take his weight. He made it to the couch and dropped into it.

Yixing and Minseok were smiling at the man. Jongdae was huffing from the effort of getting from his room to the couch but the grin on his face said everything. Jongdae was fine. He was more than fine, he was excited to be back on his feet even if it came with limitations. In fact, his grin was starting to become infectious and soon everyone in the room was grinning with him. Everyone except the other two beagles. Jongdae's grin faded a little at their expressions. They almost seemed angry. "What's wrong with you two?"

As if getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Chanyeol immediately put on a smile. "Nothing." He turned to Baekhyun. "Right?"

Baekhyun smiled, "Right."

They weren't fooling Jongdae. Now that Jongdae was feeling better he was back to his mother hen mode. He could tell the two hadn't been sleeping well. There were dark rings around their eyes and they looked drawn. Jongdae hadn't seen much of them in the week he was confined to his bedroom and on the occasions, they did come to visit him, they would always look happy. Now that Jongdae thought about it, they were overly excited. They were masking their real feelings. There was also one more thing that he should've noticed. They never visited him together. Jongdae turned to their leader, silently asking what was wrong? Junmyeon could only shake his head in exasperation.

Junmyeon tried to get Baekhyun and Chanyeol to talk to him but they kept to themselves, and completely ignored each other. He has never seen these two like this. He was right to think Jongdae was the only one who could help them but the others were right too; Jongdae wasn't in any condition to help anyone at the time. Now he worried that leaving it for so long caused permanent damage.

"How's practice going?" Jongdae asked, dropping the issue for now.

"Good! We've got the moves down. Want to see it?" Yixing smiled. "We learned the version with eight of us, so we can show you that one." He was shocked when someone grabbed him by the shirt.

It was Baekhyun. "What the hell was that supposed to mean? Jongdae will open with us!"

Jongdae was about to shoot off the couch but Minseok put a firm hand on his shoulder, keeping him there. He gave him a sharp shake of the head. "Yixing can handle himself." He didn't want to tell Jongdae that he and Yixing had been handling these kinds of situations all week. It seemed like Chanyeol and Baekhyun didn't like that they weren't the ones to take care of Jongdae. It made them on edge.

"That's not what I meant." Yixing told Baekhyun calmly. "We learn five or six different versions of all our dances in case someone can't attend for some reason or another and seeing as we're showing Jongdae, it makes sense to show him a full version rather than tell him to imagine himself in the blank spot."

Baekhyun slowly let go of Yixing's shirt. He straightened it out. "Sorry."

Yixing nodded and gave his friend a slap on the arm. "No worries." He clapped his hands. "Let's do this!" He gave Jongdae the thumbs up.

"See?" Minseok slapped his shoulder and got up. "Nothing to worry about." Jongdae smiled at him although he knew there definitely was something to worry about. He pushed his worries aside because he wanted to watch this performance without any distractions.

As soon as the music started, Jongdae wanted to join in the dance. He loved it. The music, choreography, lyrics all worked together so well. He knew this new song would be a hit and couldn't wait to share it with the rest of the world. "oooohhhh! That was amazing!" Jongdae cheered once they finished it all. "I can't wait to be a part of it!" Jongdae looked like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"Sehun and I will be getting you up to speed as soon as you're allowed to practice." Jongin promised him.

"Yehet!" Jongdae laughed at Sehun's vocabulary. "You'll be better than all of them." He gestured to all the members, boasting of his dancing skills.

Kyungsoo smacked him over the head, shocking Sehun. "Don't be rude to your hyungs."

Jongdae couldn't help grinning at the antics. He missed this the most. The only difference was that Chanyeol and Baekhyun were usually the instigators of such antics. It didn't seem right that they were so quiet. He needed to have a talk with them.

* * *

After a dinner Kyungsoo had prepared, Junmyeon wanted Jongdae to head back to his bedroom to rest but Jongdae shook his head at the two other beagles who were already heading to their own room. "I'm heading up to the roof. Tell Chanyeol and Baekhyun to meet me there."

Junmyeon sighed, "It's too soon. Give them and yourself some time."

"I think we've given too much time. Tell them; either they talk to me tonight or they don't talk to me at all." Jongdae left the ultimatum for Junmyeon to deliver. He then gave his leader a smile. "We'll be fine." He promised.

Minseok helped Jongdae to his feet. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

Jongdae nodded his head. "I'll just be sitting up there. No physical activity unless a fight starts." He grinned, knowing the joke didn't go over well.

"I will strangle those two if that happens." Minseok meant it as well.

Yixing came over with a pair of slippers and a light hoodie. "It's getting warmer but it's still a little cold at night." He helped Jongdae into the hoodie and slipped his mobile into his pocket. "Call us if you need help."

"What do you think is going to happen?" Jongdae asked amused. "They're not going to kill me."

 _But they may kill each other…_ Yixing and Minseok both thought. Jongdae didn't know this but the two beagles haven't slept in the same room in the last week. Something happened between the two that neither one of them would talk about.

"What are you two not telling me?" Jongdae asked of the silent exchange the two had.

Yixing winced. "Whatever happened between them, they won't dare to blow up with you up there with them. I really think you're the only one who can fix this."

"What the…" Jongdae couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Do what you can. They need to talk, otherwise they're going to explode." Junmyeon told him. He didn't like leaving the situation to Jongdae but he had little choice. This started with Jongdae so he would need to be the one to solve it. "Just don't push yourself."

* * *

Jongdae waited on the outdoor lounge on the rooftop, sitting on the chaise so that he could put his leg up. He loved it up here. Especially on a cloudless night like today. He enjoyed looking up at the stars. He laughed at himself when he thought of the corny things he could say to their EXO-Ls like; _You are the stars shining down on us at night._ Junmyeon always made him say it each time he came up with one. It was embarrassing and he would go all red when he did but he knew the fans loved it. Chanyeol and Baekhyun sometimes came up with ones as well but for some reason he would be the one to say them on stage. He wondered how that always happened. He'd have to ask them one day. "Jongdae." He looked over at the voice. Baekhyun walked around the lounge and sat down next to him. Chanyeol was a few steps behind him. He sat on the chaise at Chen's feet, putting the injured man between he and Baekhyun. They were going to a lot of trouble to stay away from each other.

Jongdae sighed but continued looking at the stars. "Remind me, which star did we say were ours?"

Baekhyun looked up and pointed the brightest star. "That's Junmyeon hyung. His EXO's leader so he needed to be the brightest so he can guide us." Jongdae smiled.

"The two on either side of him are Minseok and Yixing." Chanyeol continued, "because our leader needs advisors and Minseok is caring while Yixing is a genius." He relaxed a little as they spoke about the stars.

"That's right." Jongdae said, looking at the stars with content. The three of them named the stars together one night after their first EXO'luxion Concert. The rest of the house was asleep but the three beagles were too hyped to sleep. He laughed as he pointed to a duller star, "That's Kyungsoo because the fans think he's quiet and he has such a serious face."

"Yep, but he's next to the other two smaller stars, Jongin and Sehun because he takes care of them." Baekhyun's smile faded when he realised which members they were up to.

"Where am I again?" Jongdae asked Baekhyun.

Baekhyun pointed at the three stars in a row. "You're the one in the middle."

Jongdae's expression grew sad and shook his head. "No, Chanyeol was the one in the middle." He said firmly.

"I think you're remembering wrong." Chanyeol agreed with Baekhyun. "You're in the middle."

"Do you two think I've lost my memory after hitting my head?" Jongdae asked them, a little angry, a lot concerned. "We had reasons for why we chose these stars. Chanyeol's in the middle because of the promise we made on this roof." He looked at Baekhyun. "We both promised Chanyeol that we would never leave this group unless it's agreed by everyone that it was time for us to move on individually. We place Chanyeol's star between ours to reinforce that promise, that we would always be there for him!"

Baekhyun turned from Jongdae, no longer interested in the sky, "Does it matter?"

Jongdae sighed, forgetting about the stars. "One of you want to tell me what's going on?"

Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol but didn't say a thing. Chanyeol looked away. "We're fine."

Jongdae shook his head, "Clearly!" He pushed himself up a little. "I know I hit my head but I'm not stupid." He turned to Baekhyun. "I see the looks you give Chanyeol. You look like you want to kill him." Baekhyun just shrugged. Jongdae glared at him and then turned to Chanyeol. "And you're not the type to take that crap." Again, he didn't get a response. "One of you better talk or we'll be up here all night." Jongdae folded his arms and sat there. He was determined to get his way.

It was almost fifteen minutes later when Chanyeol noticed Jongdae rubbing his arms up and down. He frowned and looked at Baekhyun. Baekhyun saw it as well. The night air did have a bite to it tonight. He was about to take off his coat when Jongdae stopped him. "Don't. I don't need it." Jongdae wasn't going to do anything the two wanted until they started talking.

Baekhyun sighed. He knew they weren't going to win this battle of wills. He glared Chanyeol. "It's his fault you're in this mess." He finally revealed the reason behind his anger to Jongdae. Jongdae turned to Chanyeol, expecting him to defend himself but he didn't. "See? He doesn't even deny it."

"I thought we already talked about this." Jongdae didn't like how Chanyeol wasn't saying anything. "This is my fault for not talking to anyone. I thought I was protecting all of you but I was wrong."

"You did what any of us would have done." Baekhyun denied, "He was the one who didn't trust you! He didn't even trust me!"

Chanyeol spun at that. "What the hell are you talking about?" This was the first he'd heard that. He'd been taking Baekhyun's crap because he thought he was right. He should've trusted Jongdae more but he didn't think his trust in Baekhyun was also in question.

"You were angry at Jongdae because you thought he'd leave. I understand why you didn't talk to him but why didn't you talk to me? We're supposed to be best friends!" Baekhyun yelled at him.

Chanyeol never thought about it that way. He didn't think Baekhyun was angry at him because he didn't confide in him. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry! Is that all you can say? You can't just accuse Jongdae of betraying you and then say you're sorry. You can't freeze me out and say you're sorry!" Baekhyun shot off the lounge. "What you did could have taken down EXO!"

Jongdae jumped when Chanyeol shot up as well. "What else can I say? I know I was wrong. I should've spoken to someone. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I didn't want to believe what the trainee was saying. I didn't believe it at first so I didn't tell anyone." Chanyeol turned away from them, pulling at his hair in frustration. "Do you think I wanted to believe it? I didn't tell you because I didn't want anything to affect the group. I wanted to be sure so I waited and watched Jongdae but he avoided us." Jongdae looked up at him guiltily. Again, this came back to his bad decision of keeping everything from them. "I'm not trying to blame you." Chanyeol told him. "It just looked like you were feeling guilty about something so I thought that confirmed the suspicion."

"So why the hell didn't you tell me then!?" Baekhyun wouldn't let it go. "Why'd you have to confront him like that?"

Chanyeol clenched his fists, angry at his own quick temper. "By then it was already too late. I was too angry to even think straight."

"Yeah, you were too angry because when it came down to it, you didn't trust us enough!" Baekhyun felt his eyes burning from the tears. He stabbed his finger to the ground. "Right here! Right here! We made you that promise. We made a pact that we would never ever do what Kris did!" Baekhyun was screaming now. "How could you think Jongdae would do that to you?!"

Jongdae watched the agony both his friends were going through. He could see the guilt eating away at Chanyeol and the anger darkening Baekhyun. These two were EXO's cheer squad. They were the light of the team. They raised the atmosphere. EXO couldn't survive without their positive attitude and fun-loving nature. "What do you want me to do?" Chanyeol asked after the silence. "Do you want me to leave?" Jongdae jolted at the question. He wanted to cry out 'no!' but he knew Chanyeol needed the answer from Baekhyun. Jongdae looked at Baekhyun, silently urging him to answer the negative. He doesn't want Chanyeol to leave. He couldn't.

Baekhyun shrugged, "Maybe." He whispered, turning away from both.

Jongdae gasped at the answer. "You don't mean that." He looked at the devastation on Chanyeol's face. "He doesn't mean that!" He tried to convince Chanyeol.

"Yes, he does." Chanyeol said. He took in shaky breath, wiping at his nose. "I'll go."

"NO!" Jongdae tried to grab Chanyeol but he wasn't fast enough. Forgetting about his injuries and only thinking about getting to Chanyeol, he jumped to his feet and lunged over the side of lounge to reach Chanyeol but his ankle couldn't take the weight. "Aaaahhh!" Jongdae dropped back onto the lounge on his side, pulling up his leg as the pain shot up it.

"Jongdae!"

"Jongdae!" Baekhyun dropped onto the couch next to Jongdae while Chanyeol leaped over lounge, landing in front of him. "Jongdae!"

Jongdae had his eyes closed tight as he tried to get the pain under control. Sweat beaded across his brow as the pain wouldn't subside. "I'll get his pain meds." Baekhyun went to stand but Jongdae reached out and grabbed his arm. He sat back down. "You need your meds." He worried when Jongdae didn't answer.

"Baekhyun's right. Let him get the pills." Chanyeol pleaded.

Jongdae took a few deep breaths before he dared to open his eyes. "If one of you…leave now…you're not going to come…back."

"Don't be silly. I'm going to get your medicine. Of course, I'll come back." Baekhyun thought Jongdae was in too much pain to think straight.

Jongdae turned in his seat, grimacing as he moved his leg so that he could turn to Baekhyun. "That's not what I mean. I'm not letting anyone leave because of me."

Chanyeol saw how much effort it was taking for Jongdae to talk. "Let us take care of you first and then we'll listen to what you have to say."

"NO!" Jongdae growled in frustration. "No one is leaving!" He glared at Baekhyun. "Do you really want Chanyeol to leave?" Baekhyun couldn't look Jongdae in the eye. "You don't because you know this group won't survive if anybody else leaves. You don't because he's your best friend. He's your brother. We're a family and when it comes down to family, everything is forgivable. We will always have disagreements. We'll always have difficult times but we are nothing if we're not a family." Baekhyun let the tears fall as did Chanyeol. "Did you already forget your own words? Our joy is multiplied by nine and our pain is divided by nine." Jongdae gripped the backs of their necks in his hands. "We're all hurting right now, what are you going to do about it?" He looked at each of them, determined to make them see straight. Chanyeol looked at Jongdae and then at Baekhyun. He knew he had to allow Baekhyun to make the first move. Jongdae was also looking to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun knew what he needed to do. He had to let go of his anger. He reached up and wrapped his arm around Jongdae's shoulder and then slowly, he reached over and gripped Chanyeol's. "We're going to divide our pain." He told Chanyeol. Chanyeol nodded, silently thanking his friend for his forgiveness. Baekhyun pulled him closer and the three of them cried and laughed on each other's shoulders. Finally, the beagle line was on the mend.

* * *

Junmyeon, Minseok and Yixing waited anxiously in the living room for their friends to return. Minseok was losing his patience and was about to head up when they heard the three returning. "Don't put pressure on it." He heard Baekhyun say. "Our hyungs are going to kill us." That was Chanyeol.

Minseok looked at Yixing and Junmyeon. They sounded fine but the content of their conversation was not good. When they finally appeared, coming down the steps, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had each of Jongdae's arms across their shoulders. "What the hell did you two do?!" Minseok waited for them to sit Jongdae onto a bar stool before gently lifting Jongdae's leg. "It's swelling up!" He fumed as he undid the ankle brace.

Yixing grabbed an icepack from the freezer and handed it to Minseok. "You two better explain yourselves before Minseok tries to strangle you."

Chanyeol was about to explain when Jongdae interrupted. "It wasn't their fault. I got up too quickly." He hissed when the ice pack touched his ankle.

"The doctor told you not to put too much strain on it." Minseok held Jongdae's leg firmly, stopping him from tugging away.

Jongdae shrugged, "Could you just be happy that these two are talking again?"

Junmyeon looked at the two. It was as if the weight of the world was lifted from their shoulders. He smiled. "I could be." Jongdae grinned at him, then looked down hopefully at Minseok.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not letting it go." Minseok tried to stay his ground. Jongdae nudged him with his other foot. "Stop that!" Jongdae didn't. He kept at it until, "Fine! As long as you two are talking!" Everyone laughed. They wondered why Minseok didn't just give in in the first place.

Yixing knelt and took a closer look at Jongdae's ankle. "Should we call the doctor?" He winced at the bruising around it.

"No!" Jongdae pleaded with his leader.

Junmyeon shook his head. "We'll compromise. We'll ice it for now but if the pain and swelling doesn't go away, we're calling the doctor."

Jongdae smiled, "Deal!"

Minseok shook his head in disappointment at his leader. "How are we the oldest and yet these little brats can make us do whatever they want?"

"Just this one." Yixing ruffled Jongdae's hair, then nudged his head at Chanyeol and Baekhyun. "These two need discipline." Chanyeol and Baekhyun pointed at themselves incredulously. "Yes, you two!" Yixing shook his head at them. "Don't act like you don't know what I mean." Jongdae grinned. It wasn't just Yixing who thought that. For some reason, the others would put up with pranks from Jongdae but are less patient with Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

"You just love him more." Baekhyun pouted. Jongdae grinned. He hadn't seen this cheeky side of Baekhyun in so long.

"You're bias. It's because he has that voice, isn't it? Just because he can hit a high note and I can't." Chanyeol joined in. "Or you're all just jealous because we're cuter." They gave them their best aegyo expression. Jongdae burst out laughing!

"Jongdae, stop moving!" Minseok complained. He removed the ice-pack to get another look. "I think the swelling is going down. How's the pain?"

Jongdae shrugged, "It's numb now." Minseok narrowed his eyes at him exasperated. "What?! You put a cold pack on it. Of course, it's going to be numb." His brother still didn't say anything, looking extremely unimpressed with all of them. Jongdae pouted and reached down, tugging at Minseok's sleeve. He was acting like the groups maknae. "Come on, hyung. Don't be like that." He put a hand on his heart. "I promise. I will do whatever you say until the doctor comes to visit next." He gave another small tug. "Hyuuuunng!"

Minseok couldn't help the small tug at the corner of his mouth. He shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

Jongdae looked at him cheekily. "I'm really tired now." Minseok was suspicious of the glint in his friend's eyes. "I don't think I can walk to my room." Minseok's eyes widened at what Jongdae was asking. Yixing and Junmyeon were trying their hardest to keep from laughing while Baekhyun and Chanyeol were almost rolling on the floor. "Hyuuunnng?"

Minseok gave in as he always did with his younger brothers. He turned around and bobbed a little. "Get on." Jongdae grinned as he climbed onto Minseok's back. He wasn't worried. The eldest in the group was also the strongest and Jongdae was amongst the lightest.

"Goodnight!" Jongdae laid his head on Minseok's shoulders. He wasn't lying when he said he was tired. It was an exhausting night.

"Goodnight." Junmyeon patted his back as he was carried past.

"He can be the biggest baby sometimes." Yixing shook his head, laughing.

Junmyeon waited until Jongdae and Minseok were in their room before talking to the remaining beagles. "Are you two really okay?" He asked because he wanted to make sure the two weren't just acting for Jongdae's sake.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun smiled at each other. "We are." Baekhyun reassured them. "I'm sorry we worried you."

"Just remember I'm always here for you to talk to. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is." Junmyeon offered.

"Thanks, hyung."

* * *

 **Two weeks later…**

Jongin moved slowly as he showed Jongdae the dance moves. "This leg goes in front. It's a fast move but we'll work on the speed later." Sehun showed Jongdae what it's supposed to look like. Jongin made corrections to Jongdae's posture.

Jongdae was tired and they've only been practicing for an hour, but he couldn't be happier. The two youngest members were great teachers and Jongdae knew when EXO came to an end, these two would become amazing choreographers. "Jong-Hun Dance Studio." Jongdae grinned.

Jongin, who was in the middle of moving Jongdae's leg into the correct position, paused, confused. "What?" He looked at Sehun, who had paused in the middle of a move. He shrugged, as lost as anyone.

"In-Hun?..." Jongdae furrowed his brow, then shook his head, "Kai-Hun…Se-Kai…Hun-Jong…" He shook his head again. "No. Jong-Hun Dance Studio!" Jongdae said, nodding at his original thought and then turning to the rest of the team who were standing around watching. "I'll be the first to invest."

"Jongdae, what are you talking about?!" Chanyeol laughed at the nonsense coming out of his friend's mouth. "Are you still suffering from the concussion?"

Yixing was the first to catch on. "It's the name of Jongin and Sehun's dance studio. He's complimenting their teaching."

"'Good job' works better, Hyung!" Sehun laughed.

"Jongdae's right. You two would make great dance teachers." Baekhyun agreed. He got up and practiced alongside Sehun but being silly.

Junmyeon shook his head. "Alright. Time for a break, Jongdae." He ordered, seeing Jongdae's exhaustion.

Jongdae wanted to argue just for the sake of it but he really was tired. "How am I doing?" He asked as he nodded his thanks to Minseok for the bottle of water.

"It's only been an hour." Jongin reminded him.

Jongdae frowned, "Are you saying I'm crap?" He asked bluntly.

Sehun coughed out the water in his mouth, cracking up.

Jongin rolled his eyes. "I'm saying, I can't say yet because I can't teach you at a normal pace and it's has only been one hour. Even at full health, one hour isn't enough to learn our choreography."

"Hmm." Jongdae thought about that. "You could…"

"No, he can't." Minseok interrupted. "Our manager ordered us all to make sure you take it easy. He wants us ready more than anybody else but he would rather sit you out than risk you getting worse."

Jongdae pouted, "Fine." He pulled off his ankle brace to take a look at his ankle. He slowly rolled his foot, wincing at the slight twinge.

"How is it?" Minseok gently took his leg to take a look. The bruising still looked nasty but they knew it looked worse than it was.

Jongdae smiled at his brother. "If you didn't become a singer, I think you could be a doctor."

Minseok chuckled, "I'm not patient enough. I'm only like this with you." He looked back up. "Does it hurt?" Jongdae shook his head. "I think only an hour at a time of practice for today and see how you go." He waited for Jongdae to protest but nothing came. "What are you up to?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at Jongdae.

Jongdae's eyes widened incredulously, "Nothing! I'm listening to you!"

"Hmmm…" Minseok was still suspicious.

"I'm hurt." Jongdae's hand came to his heart exaggerating a heartache. Minseok gave his shoulder a shove making Jongdae laugh.

Jongdae sobered before he spoke next because he wanted to say something to his brothers. "Thank you for taking care of me these past three weeks. I know I wasn't the easiest person to be around."

"Actually, you're probably the easiest out of all of us." Junmyeon said, half-jokingly.

"I really just want to say thank you." Jongdae smiled at how corny he was about to be. "Sometimes I pinch myself to see if this is a dream. How can someone be doing something he loves, with people he loves and surrounded by people who loves him? I couldn't ask for more than what you guys have given me."

They all smiled sweetly at him. Jongdae was never one to get emotional. It was rare to see him cry, even during the most emotional situations, but he always knew what to say. "We feel the same way."

"I promise you. Somehow, I'm going to make this comeback with you." He quickly added, "Without pushing myself." Minseok sat back, relieved Jongdae knew his limits.

* * *

 **Two weeks later…**

Jongdae stood on stage as their official Comeback came to an end. It was time for their goodbyes to their fans and for the first time ever, Jongdae felt a lump in his throat when it came to his turn to speak. He never showed his emotional side on stage but his emotions were running high tonight. "CHEN!" Baekhyun called for him to talk. Jongdae took a breath and brought the microphone to his mouth but nothing came out. Catching himself off-guard, the took a step back, the back of his hand coming up to his mouth as he tried to cover the hitch in his breathing. Chanyeol and Baekhyun stood to either side of him, speaking words of encouragement.

Junmyeon, being their leader, stepped forward to fill the silence that filled the arena. Even the fans were stunned at seeing their Jongdae get emotional. "It's been a long time since we've stood on this stage. It's summer time and we've been working so hard to show you our best side! Did you like it?!" The crowd screamed the affirmative.

Their host, who has been their long-time supporter and friend, Leeteuk, knew of Jongdae's emotional roller-coaster. "Yes, I think EXO will be having another fabulous year! I understand the last few weeks coming up to this night has been hard on all of you, especially Chen." He looked over at Jongdae, to see if the boy was ready to talk.

"That's right." Minseok answered. "He injured himself amongst other things. We weren't sure he could be on this comeback stage in his full capacity but he worked hard because he knew EXO-Ls deserved nothing less. How do you think we performed tonight!?" He called out to their fans. The crowd screamed to show their approval.

"I'm sure it was hard on all of you as well."

"It was, but Chen, being Chen, took care of us by making sure we didn't worry too much." Kyungsoo told the host.

"Why don't we all show Chen how much we love and support him?!" Leeteuk cheered. "Kim Jongdae…" He started the chant and the crowd followed. It was the first time the crowd had to be lead. Usually, instinctively they knew what to do, but the sudden change in Jongdae surprised everyone.

Chanyeol worried at how long it was taking Jongdae to gather his feelings. He and Baekhyun were trying to talk him through it but it was hard because they all knew how important this night was for him. It also didn't help that he knew his brother was in the crowd watching. His father was still recovering so his mother sent Jongdeok to show all of them their support.

"Take your time." Baekhyun told Jongdae. "Leeteuk Sunbae and Junmyeon hyung will keep the crowd busy."

Minseok walked over to them. "Just take a deep breath." He coached as he ran his hand up and down Jongdae's back. "You don't need to say much. Just a thank you will do." But even as he said it, he knew Jongdae had much to say, which was why he was getting so emotional. "You can do this. The night is almost over."

Jongdae closed his eyes and let his friends' voices calm his breathing. The crowd were chanting his name. He had to pull himself together. He opened his eyes to find Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Xiumin shielding him from the crowd. Their proud smile gave him strength. He gave them a determined nod. "I'm ready." His friends nodded and parted for Jongdae to step forward.

The crowd cheered.

"Sorry for making you wait." Jongdae bowed and then turned to Leeteuk, bowing to him. "As you've heard from Leeteuk Sunbae and the others, I haven't been well in the past weeks. There was a point when I thought I…" His voice caught in his throat again. He smiled, embarrassed. This never happened to him before. "I thought I couldn't even be on this stage, let alone dancing and singing for you." He gave a shocked chuckle when a tear dropped. The crowd screamed out their support. "I wish…" Jongdae dropped to a squat as he lost control of his emotions again. Minseok dropped next to him, rubbing his back. Jongdae drew from his strength. _I can do this._ He wiped at his eyes and got back up. "I wish I knew where my big brother is right now. I know you're out there hyung!" He called out. The tears were flowing now but he didn't wipe them away.

Chanyeol wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Jongdeok Hyung!" He called out. "Jongdae can do what he loves because he knows his big brother is taking care of the family. On behalf of EXO and EXO-Ls, go ma seum nida!"

"Kim Jongdeok…Kim Jongdeok…" The crowd chanted. Jongdeok smiled proudly at his little brother on the stage. "Saranghae." He mouthed to his brother who couldn't see him.

Jongdae hugged Chanyeol, thankful for what he said. He then turned back to the crowd. "Saranghae, hyung!" He called out as if in reply to his brother. "I once told Sunny Sunbae that I had no worries. I had no worries because I was raised and loved by my parents and brother and then we…" He gestured to his brothers on the stage, "became a family and I felt the love of another family." The crowd cheered again. He could see some of the fans in the front crying with him. Jongdae sniffed, "But these past weeks, I've worried about so many things. It was one worry after another to the point where I thought I would fall apart." Jongdae reached back with his hand. He didn't know who gripped it but he knew one of his brothers would. He pulled the person forward. It was Minseok. "I should've known better. I have brothers who help me carry my burden." Chanyeol came up on the other side and one by one they linked hands. "Standing on this stage today, proves that as long as we stand together, we can conquer anything!"

Leeteuk applauded and cheered with the crowd as this pop group…no…this family stood as one. "Everybody! This was the official EXO Comeback Stage! And showing us and the world that they are truly, ONE!"

Suho yelled out. "Hana, dul, set!"

"WE ARE ONE!"

 **The End!**


End file.
